8 Signs You’re a Commuter Student

1. You laugh when everyone complains about fire alarms going off in the middle of the night.

For once, it’s a good thing to feel out of the loop. When everyone looks exhausted and cranky in your 8 a.m. class, it’s not that you missed an awesome party last night. You were asleep in your own comfortable bed while the dorm residents had to stand outside in their pajamas for a half hour.

2. Finding a time to meet with your group is always a challenge.

You’re not on campus 24/7 like they are. People don’t understand how frustrating it is to work on a group project when you commute!

It’s great when you can do some of the work online or separate from your group to get your part done. However, when you have to practice a group speech, or work on a project together, you might have to go home and then drive all the way back, or stay on campus the entire day until they’re available to meet.

3. At lunch, you sit with your friends in the dining hall while they get hot food.

You feel out of place with your lunch box. While your friends are having meal-plan pizza, you’re chowing down on a packet of dry oatmeal. The upside? You’re saving hundreds of dollars on meals and you get to smell like apples and cinnamon all day long! Your favorite holiday gift is gas money.

You’re saving a lot of money by not living on campus, but it doesn’t feel like it whenever you fill up on gas.

4. You know the fastest way to get to campus.

You’ve experimented with a few routes, and timed how fast you can make it to campus. You’re very proud of your fastest record, which you probably made when you were running late. You can probably impress your friends with your wealth of knowledge on side streets and free parking.

5. Your car is like your second bedroom.

You can find almost anything in there. You always have spare clothes and blankets in the trunk, just in case! You have snacks in your glove box, textbooks in your back seat, Chapstick, sunglasses, and tissues up front, and trash all over the floor.

6. Most of your friends are commuters.

You instantly bond because you understand each other’s struggle! There are usually only a couple other commuters in a class, and it’s likely that you’ll be friends.

7. You have to turn around halfway to school in the snow when they finally decide to tell you that classes are canceled.

If there’s a storm, you wake up every hour to check the weather and see if you got any text alerts, but none come until all the commuters are on the treacherous roads. Thanks for letting me risk my life for no reason!

8. Some days you’re five minutes late to class…

But only because the only empty parking space you could find was almost a half mile away from the building. At least you won’t feel guilty when you skip the gym.